"Study" Claims Cal has Zero Graduation Rate in Basketball
by CaliforniaEternal on Mar 17, 2010 4:07 PM PDT
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PrintA "study" (using the term generously) by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida that looks at graduation rates claims that Cal has a zero graduation success rate for black and white basketball players entering school from 1999-2002, with an overall graduation rate of 20%. Meanwhile, Cal has an APR of 944 for the period from 2004-2008, well above the 925 number that can result in scholarship reductions and other penalties. So it seems as though for more recent years the graduation rate is better. The "study" notes that a 925 APR score is equivalent to an NCAA GSR rate of approximately 60 percent.
The Institute reviewed 2002‐03 graduation (six‐year) rates, with a four class average (freshman classes of, 1999‐2000, 2000‐01, 2001‐02, and 2002‐03). The APR data in this study does not include data from the 2008‐09 academic performances of the teams, but instead uses the four‐year data from the 2004‐05, 2005‐06, 2006‐07, and 2007‐08 academic years.
The "study" lists Cal as having an overall overall student graduation rate of 80%. A related study looking at football graduation rates shows Cal has an overall football graduation rate of 64%, with 62% for black players and 69% for white players. These numbers are from 1999‐2003, so that covers some pre-Tedford recruiting classes. The overall football graduation rate from the bowl teams in 2009-2010 is 65%, with 58% for black players and 77% for white players.
Now, getting back to basketball. Is the data correct that Cal did not have a single black or white basketball player graduate who enrolled from 1999-2002? I thought for sure that at least Gabriel Hughes, Amit Tamir, Richard Midgley, and Rod Benson graduated. Is this wrong or is the NCAA data messed up? Maybe others graduated as well. I don't know if signed players who didn't even enroll count in the data, but players who transfer and graduate somewhere else do not count against the graduation rate.
The only thing I can conclude from this study and the graduation rates in general is that Ben Braun was not only a bad coach on the court, but was a failure when it came to the academic progress of his players. The program was in such disarray that many of the players he recruited did not even have a chance to graduate.
1999: Donte Smith [enrolled spring 1999], Joe Shipp, ShanTay Legans, Brian Wethers, Nick Vander Laan
2000: Saulius Kuzminskas, Gabriel Hughes, Michael Lawson
2001: Jamal Sampson, Julian Sensley, Erik Bond, Amit Tamir
2002: Richard Midgley, David Paris, Rod Benson, Jordi Geli Vilardell, Kennedy Winston
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We have 0% black and 0% white, but 20% overall? I didn’t realize our ethnic diversity was such that we had a lot of non-whites and non-blacks on the team. Moreover, what is the definition here? Is Amit Tamir white?
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David Paris is French, Richard Midgley is English, and Amit Tamir is Israeli. Done, there are your graduates, right?
It'll be just you, me, and Peter Nincompoop.
Amit can also be an Israeli name? I didn’t realize that.
"atomsareenough—cleaning up CGB one day at a time until we finally get that press pass." - Berkelium97
by atomsareenough on Mar 17, 2010 5:14 PM PDT up reply actions
Sadly, I didn’t pay much attention to Cal sports when I was a student.
"atomsareenough—cleaning up CGB one day at a time until we finally get that press pass." - Berkelium97
by atomsareenough on Mar 17, 2010 5:27 PM PDT up reply actions
Um, isn’t David Paris Bubba Paris’s kid? As in, Californian? And he transferred, but I think in poor academic standing, so he’s one of the black kids getting the 0%.
As for the others, be careful not to confuse ethnicity with race; being from another country doesn’t change their races. Were there a couple of Asians somewhere? Walk-ons, maybe?
I found this article detailing some of this problem, and who all the players were who came in those years.
No that was Shahar Gordon not Tamir who went back to the IDF.
California Football. At home in Strawberry Canyon since 1923.
by CaliforniaEternal on Mar 17, 2010 9:00 PM PDT up reply actions
I wanted to know how they classified Amit Tamir as well. Perhaps international athletes are lumped in the other category? Maybe the group of intellectuals at the NCAA looked into whether he was Ashkenazi or Sephardic. Either way, that would probably qualify him as white.
California Football. At home in Strawberry Canyon since 1923.
by CaliforniaEternal on Mar 17, 2010 9:09 PM PDT up reply actions
Couldn’t Sephardic inch him closer to being Middle Eastern?
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Being Sephardic [descended from the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492] would make him closer to Latino. Many of those Jews joined communities in Middle Eastern countries. He could also be descended from any number of other groups more native to the Middle East in North Africa, the Levant, Arabian Peninsula, Caucusus region, India, Iran, Afganistan, etc…the real question is, did Tamir graduate?
California Football. At home in Strawberry Canyon since 1923.
by CaliforniaEternal on Mar 17, 2010 10:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Of the group listed, I think only three graduated.
Basketball players rarely stay here long enough to earn their degree…
There's no crying in baseball!
Randle Nikola Boykin P. Chris Theo
and Ryan Anderson’s starting salary is probably a good reason to have left without graduating.
The 2000’s Braun teams were poor academically – but I fail to see what has to do with the here and now. Why does it take 8 years to release a study that can be run through in about 3 weeks with some excel tables and heavy data entry?
That doesn’t explain the last 2 years of lag…
"atomsareenough—cleaning up CGB one day at a time until we finally get that press pass." - Berkelium97
by atomsareenough on Mar 17, 2010 5:30 PM PDT up reply actions
Looking at this list
Vanderlaan: transferred to UVa (and then to Concordia U. after that)
Legans: transferred to Fresno State
Lawson: I want to say he transferred, but I have no specific recollection
Sampson: left early for NBA
Sensley: Did he ever enroll? He ended up at Hawaii
Bond: transferred (Saint Mary’s, I believe)
Winston: Never enrolled, right? I thought he was released from his LOI and then ended up at Alabama.
So if these guys count against our totals, that’s already 7 players who count against us, without even knowing which of the rest got their degrees.
Did Kuzminskas or Geli ever play for us? I’m thinking no.
I am a Vereenian.
So, ifI understand you correctly, the problems stem less from academic problems and more from Braun’s odd Player Transferring syndrome.
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Actually, the methodology specifically excludes players who left early for the NBA, and who transferred while in good academic standing. So it appears we might genuinely have sucked at graduating players. :-(
That being said, it makes me exceedingly happy that apparently all five of our current seniors are on track to graduate in May. Let’s keep the problem fixed.
I wish they would provide a list of all players who stayed for their time, did not go pro, did not transfer, and failed to graduate. Get rid of all these other aspects that do not relate to anything with academics and just look at academics. Played for 4-5 years, never graduated.
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
On track to graduate?
What’s the source for “all five of our current seniors are on track to graduate in May”? That’s awesome, but how do we know?
Sing glorious, victorious!
I am interested in writing a post on this. Can you kindly email me, Scootie, I’d like to discuss your findings. goldenblogs at gmail dot com.
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Sure, will do.
Meanwhile, here’s an actual accredited media link to the “everyone’s graduating this year” thing.
by Scootie on Mar 18, 2010 8:59 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sensley never enrolled, went to prep school then Hawai’i. You’re right on with Winston: released from LOI, enrolled at Alabama as a Freshman.
I forget if Kuzminskas played at all his freshman year — if so, it wasn’t much, and then he went back to Serbia(?). Don’t know what happened with Geli after he took a medical retirement — maybe he stayed in school, maybe not.
Gabriel Hughes asked for his release to transfer, but Braun talked him out of it. Tamir was out of eligibility after three years, so he may have gone back to Europe to pursue basketball rather than stay for a fourth year to try and graduate.
Of the 17 players listed, only Shipp, Wethers, Hughes, Midgley and Benson played four years at Cal. Not to defend Braun’s graduation record, but of all these players, David Paris is the only one I can say definitely was an academic casualty.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
1999:
Donte Smith
Joe Shipp
ShanTay Legans- transfer to Fresno
Brian Wethers
Nick Vander Laan- transfer to UVa
2000:
Saulius Kuzminskas- moved back to Europe
Gabriel Hughes
Michael Lawson- transfer to DVC
2001:
Jamal Sampson- NBA
Julian Sensley- never enrolled
Erik Bond- transfer to St. Mary’s
Amit Tamir- left after three years eligibility up
2002:
Richard Midgley
David Paris- academic fail
Rod Benson
Jordi Geli Vilardell- medical issues, probably moved back to Spain
Kennedy Winston- never enrolled
So only eight guys are in the pool of “did not transfer or go to the NBA.” Or maybe the two Europeans who quit to go home are in the pool. That means out of those 10, only two graduated. Not so good… But who were the two who bothered to finish their degrees. Pretty sure one of those is Midgley, but wouldn’t he be in the “white” race category? Anyway…not so good.
Are you telling me Brian Wethers never graduated?!?!?!?!?
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Unless I am blind, he was black. Midgley is English, does he count as “White”? I dunno how they set it up. Maybe the two non-Americans were the only ones to get their degree.
CGB's Jimmy Carter
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Insomnia freakin’ rocks.
A spot of research reveals to me that RF-K had a little bro who walked on too, who came to Cal in 2001. Tashaan’s player profile says that Ryan graduated in 2002, which made him a frosh in 98, a class ahead of this group we are talking about here. However, I wonder if Tashaan is one of the two?
Also, can confirm that they are mixed race.
Anybody have anything else they’d like researched between now and dawn? (sigh)
Can you help me find projected growth rates in China B to C e-commerce for 2010 and 2011 fiscal year -taking into account the growth of taobao mall and branded online stores?
9-10%. That’s not what it actually was but…you know.
CGB: Preventing the rest of the Cal blogosphere from getting press passes since 2006.
by Spazzy Mcgee on Mar 18, 2010 9:12 AM PDT up reply actions
every time I hear "if memory serves me...." I think of
CGB: Preventing the rest of the Cal blogosphere from getting press passes since 2006.
by Spazzy Mcgee on Mar 18, 2010 9:35 AM PDT up reply actions
maybe he's an octaroon
"I treat Timmy differently from most pitchers: I leave him alone."- Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti
"What do I want you to do? What are you doing in the National League?"- John McGraw
"117 elements, and still no Stanfurdium"- carp (paraphrased)
by natteringnabob on Mar 18, 2010 7:04 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
So, if this report is true and Cal had such a miserable graduation rate, how is it that the NCAA never did anything about it? I thought they were actively monitoring academic progress and would level some sort of penalties against under-performing schools? Or did they just figure that having Ben Braun was penalty enough?
Whose Axe?
OUR AXE!
Basketball is a sport played by relatively few players
A good graduation rate from your football program, which Cal has, can bury a terrible grad rate from your basketball program by sheer weight of numbers.
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